U.S. child marriage laws: individual state legislation

The current legal minimum age to get married in Alabama is 16. There has been no recent legislation that would ban child marriage.

Updated: March 2025

Anyone 16 or older is legally allowed to get married in Alaska, which was set by HB 62 in 2022. Unfortunately, this leaves 16-and 17-year-olds open to forced child marriages, and there is no legislation pending that would change this.

Updated: March 2025

In 2025, Rep. Lorena Austin introduced HB2528 to end all marriage before 18, without exception. The bill is pending in the house. Currently, the legal minimum age in Arizona is 16.

Updated: March 2025 

In 2019 and 2021, lawmakers passed bills that established the marriage age at 17 while retaining an outdated exception that permits those “under 18 but older than 16” to marry if they are pregnant. With no pending legislation, there is no end to child marriages in sight.

Updated: March 2025

California currently has no minimum age to get married. Our latest hope, AB 2924, the bill to end all marriages before 18, is awaiting action in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Are you a California resident? Join our partners Unchained At Last and write to your state legislators.  

Updated: March 2025 

With HB 19-1316 being passed in 2019, the legal minimum age to marry in Colorado is 16. There is currently no law pending that would raise this.

Updated: March 2025 

Connecticut was the ninth state to ban child marriages in June 2023 when HB 6569 was passed and raised the age from 16 to 18.

Updated: March 2025 

The first U.S. state to ever ban child marriages without exception, Delaware’s governor signed HB 337 into law in May 2018.

Updated: March 2025

In 2018, Florida lawmakers passed SB140 to set the marriage age at 17.

Updated: March 2025

In 2025, several legislators introduced bills to end all marriage before age 18, without exception: SB528/HB729, SB560, and HB647. HB647 is awaiting action in the house Health committee. HB729 passed the house and now HB729, SB528 and SB560 are all awaiting action in the senate Health and Human Services committee.

Currently, anyone over the age of 15 can legally get married. 

Updated: March 2025

The youngest age to legally marry in Idaho is 16, established by HB 466 in 2020. There is no further legislation pending that would ban child marriage.

Updated: March 2025 

The minimum age to get married in Illinois is currently set at 16. In 2025, HB1744, which intends to end all marriage before age 18, was introduced but unfortunately is missing some statutes to do so. The bill is pending in the legislature.

Updated: March 2025

In 2020, Indiana passed HB 1006, which raised the age to get married to 16. Two attempts to ban child marriage completely failed in 2020, and no further legislation has been introduced since.

Updated: March 2025 

In Iowa, the legal minimum age to get married is 16. There is no pending legislation to raise it to 18 and ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: March 2025

In Kansas, child marriage is still possible for children between the ages of 15 and 18. HB2026, the bill to end all marriage before 18, is awaiting action in the house Federal and State Affairs committee.

Updated: March 2025

Anyone 17 or older is legally allowed to get married in Kentucky, which leaves 17-year-olds vulnerable to forced child marriages. There is currently no legislation pending that would protect them by raising the age to 18.

Updated: March 2025

In 2019, lawmakers passed SB 172, which was initially introduced to prohibit all marriages under 18. However, it was amended to set the marriage age at 16. Currently, no legislation to end child marriage is pending in Louisiana.

Updated: March 2025

In 2023, lawmakers passed LD 443, setting the marriage age at 17. Currently, no legislation to end child marriage is pending in Maine.

Updated: March 2025

In 2022, lawmakers passed HB 83/SB 29, raising the marriage age from 15 to 17 but retaining the outdated pregnancy exception for 17-year-olds. This marked the seventh attempt to end child marriage in Maryland, with all previous bills having died in the legislature, and no pending ones.

Updated: March 2025

Massachusetts became the seventh state to ban child marriage without exceptions in July 2022 when HB 1478 was passed into law.

Updated: March 2025

Michigan became the tenth state in the United States to pass HB 4302 to end child marriage without any exceptions in September 2023, meaning marriage before the age of 18 is officially illegal.

Updated: March 2025

In 2020 Minnesota passed SF 1393/HF 745 which ended all marriages before age 18. This makes Minnesota the fourth state to pass crucial legislation.

Updated: March 2025

Mississippi is one of the few U.S. states that has no minimum legal age to get married, failing to offer protection to all children under 18. Previous bill to limit — but not end — child marriage  and to lower the age of majority were defeated in committee in 2021 and 2025, respectively.

Updated: March 2025 

Missouri currently allows children above 16 to get married. In 2025, several bills were introduced which would end marriage before 18 with no exceptions including SB66, SB631, HB1200, SB43 and HB737. HB737 is awaiting action in the house Fiscal Review committee. SB66 and SB43 both passed the senate, and both are now awaiting action in the house. SB631 is awaiting a committee assignment. HB1200 was unanimously voted out of the house Children and Families committee and now goes to the full house for a vote. HJR60, which would change the language in the state constitution to say “marriage is between two individuals who are 18 years of age or older,” is also pending in the house. Weak bills were also introduced in 2025 and are awaiting decisions.

Are you a Missouri resident? Join our partners Unchained At Last and write to your state legislators.

Updated: March 2025 

The current legal minimum age to get married in Montana is 16. The latest bill to raise it to 18 died in 2019, and no more recent one has been introduced since.

Updated: March 2025 

With no legislation pending, 17-year-old children can legally get married in the state of Nebraska, and there is no outlook on this changing.

Updated: March 2025

Since 2019, the legal minimum age to marry in Nevada is 17, as set by AB 139. There is currently no law pending that would raise the age to 18 and prohibit child marriage.

Updated: March 2025

In May 2024, New Hampshire became the thirteenth state to ban child marriages. SB 359 unanimously passed the Senate in March 2024, the House with 192-174 in May 2024, and was signed into law in June 2024. Unfortunately, a new bill was introduced in 2025 which, if passed, would create an exception, lowering the marriage age to 17 if one party to the marriage is active duty military. The bill is pending a full house review. 

Updated: March 2025

New Jersey became the second state to ban child marriage without exception in 2018 when bill A 865/S 427 was adopted into law, setting the minimum legal age to marry at 18.

Updated: March 2025

New Mexico currently has no legal minimum age to marry. Unfortunately, a promising bill, HB 242, died at the end of the 2024 legislative period, and no further bills are currently pending.

Updated: March 2025

After Freedom United’s advocacy, New York became the sixth state to ban child marriage. The government passed A 3891/S 3086 in 2021, making the legal minimum age to marry 18, inspired by survivor Naila Amin.

Updated: March 2025

The current legal minimum age to marry in North Carolina is 16, which was raised from 14 by HB 41/SB 35 in 2021. However, child marriage is still allowed and there is currently no pending legislation that would prohibit it.

Updated: March 2025

The youngest age to legally marry in North Dakota is 16. There is currently no legislation in the works that would ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: March 2025 

Since 2019, with the passing of HB 511, anyone 17 and older is allowed to get married in Ohio. There is no discussion about raising the age to 18 and prohibiting child marriages.

Updated: March 2025

There is no legal minimum age to marry in Oklahoma, failing to protect children in the state completely from forced child marriage. SB504, the bill to end all marriage before 18, is awaiting action in the senate Judiciary committee. In 2025, bills were introduced which would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to marry if they are emancipated. One bill allows 0-15-year-olds to marry with judicial approval if the girl is pregnant or has given birth. Both bills are awaiting action in the house Rules committee.

Updated: March 2025 

Oregon currently allows anyone 17 and older to legally get married. In 2025, bill SB548 to end all marriage before 18, without exception was introduced. The bill passed nearly unanimously out of the senate and is now awaiting action in the house Judiciary committee.

Updated: July 2024 

The third state to prohibit child marriage, Pennsylvania passed HB 360/SB 81 in 2019, therefore, raising the minimum legal age to marry to 18.

Updated: March 2025

Rhode Island became the fifth state to ban child marriages in 2021 when H 5387/S 398 raised the minimum legal age to marry to 18.

Updated: March 2025

Currently, the minimum age to get married in South Carolina is set at 16. SB25, the bill to end all marriage before 18, is awaiting action in the senate Judiciary committee.

Updated: March 2025

The legal minimum age to marry in South Dakota is 16. In 2024, HB 1154 was introduced but defeated in the House State Affairs Committee. Currently, no legislation to end child marriage is pending in the state.

Updated: March 2025

17-year-old children can legally get married in Tennessee. Legislation that would protect them and ban child marriage is currently not underway.

Updated: March 2025 

In Texas, the legal minimum age to marry is 16. In 2025, HB168 was introduced to end all marriage before 18, without exception. The bill is pending in the legislature.

Updated: March 2025 

Since the passing of HB 234 in 2019, individuals aged 17 and older are permitted to marry in Utah. In 2025, lawmakers introduced SB76, which would shorten the close-in-age exception in child marriages to four years from seven years (meaning 16- and 17-year-olds could marry someone no more than four years older). SB76 passed both the house and the senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Updated: March 2025

Vermont is the eighth state to ban child marriage without exception, with H 148, being passed in April 2023.

Updated: March 2025 

Virginia became the first Southern state to raise the minimum legal age for marriage to 18.  In April 2024, HB 994 was signed into law, making it the twelfth state to ban child marriages. 

Updated: March 2025

Washington joined the states that prohibit child marriage in March 2024, imposing a legal minimum age to marry of 18. It is the twelfth state to protect children against forced child marriage by banning child marriage with HB 1455.

Updated: March 2025

In 2023, lawmakers passed HB 3018, setting the marriage age in West Virginia at 16. The most recent bill addressing child marriage died at the end of the 2024 legislative session, and no further legislation is pending.

Updated: March 2025

The minimum legal age to marry in Wisconsin is 16. Previous bills to end child marriage died in 2024. Currently, there is no legislation in progress to ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: March 2025 

The current legal minimum age to marry in Wyoming is 16, established by HB 7 in 2023. There are no pending laws that would raise it to 18 and ban child marriage.

Updated: March 2025